1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an IC card connector device installed in equipment that employs an IC card inserted therein or removed therefrom.
2. Description of the Related Art
A connector device for an IC card is usually constituted primarily by a pin header composed of multiple pin contacts, which are disposed in a pin housing, for the connection to a socket contacts in an IC card, a frame for protecting the IC card at the time of removing or inserting the IC card, and an ejection mechanism for ejecting an inserted IC card from the pin housing. A connector device for an IC card which has a housing and a frame integrally molded is also known.
In an IC card connector device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 6-13072, two IC cards are disposed at top and bottom of a guide of a frame such that they may be separately inserted or removed by two push rods provided at the top and bottom. Two ejection mechanisms which are respectively coupled to the two push rods are disposed at the top and bottom of the frame. The connector device further includes first and second transmitting levers which link the push rods and slide plates, a third transmitting lever which is rotatably supported by the first transmitting lever and which is removably engaged with the second transmitting lever, and a heart-shaped cam mechanism which is able to hold the push rods in a pushed-in position and a first extended position. The pushing force of the push rods can be selectively transmitted to the slide plates according to the extending amount of the push rods.
When the IC cards are in an inserted position, the push rods are held in the pushed-in position. The third transmitting lever is not in engagement with the second transmitting lever; however, when the push rods are extended to a first extended position by the heart-shaped cam mechanism and further drawn to the front until they reach a second extended position, the third transmitting lever engages with the second transmitting lever in the second extended position. In this state, pressing the push rods in the pushed-in direction causes the pushing force to be transmitted to the slide plates via the respective transmitting levers, causing the slide plates to push out the IC cards to the front to eject the IC cards.
The top and bottom IC cards are respectively ejected by operating the two push rods separately as set forth above.
Thus, according to the IC card connector device disclosed in the publication mentioned above, when the IC card connector device accommodates two IC cards, it incorporates two push rods disposed at top and bottom. This configuration poses problems of more components, higher cost, deteriorated assemblability, and an increased height of a completed connector device.
Further, three transmitting levers are provided in linkage between the push rods and the slide plates, and the pushing forces of the push rods are transmitted or not transmitted to the slide plates according to the positions of the transmitting levers. This also poses a problem in that a larger space is required for the respective transmitting levers to swing, making it difficult to reduce the size of a completed IC card connector device.